Anna Faris meets Yogi, Boo Boo

Anna Faris takes a break from a promising career to appear in the kids movie "Yogi Bear." TEXT BY BARRY KOLTNOW, PHOTO COURTESY OF WARNER BROS.

The last time I spoke to Anna Faris, I asked her whether she would rather be thought of as funny or sexy. She didn't hesitate. The answer was funny.

You might remember her from the comedy "The House Bunny," in which she played a sexy but comical Playboy bunny who is kicked out of the mansion for being too old and takes on the job of mentoring a dorky college sorority. She also starred in the horror-movie spoof "Scary Movie" and its three sequels, and she played a Britney Spears-like pop princess opposite Ryan Reynolds (the "Sexiest Man Alive") in "Just Friends."

Her latest movie is the 3D children's movie "Yogi Bear," based on the old cartoons about a talking bear in Jellystone Park. Dan Aykroyd voices the title character, and Justin Timberlake provides the voice of Yogi's pal Boo Boo.

Yogi and Boo Boo are the only animated characters in the movie, which opens Friday. Faris, 34, and the rest of the cast appear in human form. She plays a nature filmmaker who apparently thinks that talking bears is a common occurrence.

Interviewing Faris is always fun because she never worries about her image, and never follows a public relations script. She'll talk about anything, and she laughs easily and often.

Sitting in her Beverly Hills hotel suite, the actress explained what attracted her to her new husband (actor Chris Pratt of TV's "Everwood" and "Parks and Recreation"), why she feels pressured to get naked in a movie next year and whether the Internet rumors about her appearing in a new "Ghostbusters" sequel are true.

ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER: Do you think you're cuter in 2D or 3D?

ANNA FARIS (laughs): That's a good question. I normally get real nervous looking at myself on the screen, so I'd have to say that the 3D is too intense for me. But the bears were really cute in 3D.

Q. So you think you're cuter in 2D?

A. I guess so.

Q. How did it work with you being in a scene with animated characters who aren't really there?

A. It was hard. Tom (Cavanaugh) and I would take turns staring at a branch or something and pretend it was the bears.

Q. Do you mean that the director didn't have a tennis ball or something up there for you to look at?

A. Sometimes he did. Or they'd have a stuffed animal or a human stand-in. But sometimes it wasn't possible. The trickier thing was the distance. Was the bear supposed to be 10 feet away or 15 feet away? The eye-line issue was very tricky. But discussing eye-lines is the boring part of filmmaking. Do you think we're boring people right now?

Q. I hope not.

A. Let's talk about something more interesting.

Q. OK. Most actors and actresses who suddenly start making movies for kids have recently had children. They say that they wanted to make a movie that their kids could watch. But you don't have kids. What's your excuse for making this movie?

A. (laughs) You're right. I probably should have a couple of kids right away so I can use that as an excuse. The truth is that I loved the cartoon when I was growing up. I watched it every day after school.

Anna Faris takes a break from a promising career to appear in the kids movie "Yogi Bear." TEXT BY BARRY KOLTNOW, PHOTO COURTESY OF WARNER BROS.
The new 3D kids movie "Yogi Bear" combines live action and animation. Anna Faris, shown here with the animated character Boo Boo (voiced by Justin Timberlake), is part of the live action, although she is quite animated. TEXT BY BARRY KOLTNOW, PHOTO COURTESY OF WARNER BROS.
The funny actress Anna Faris shows off her serious abs in "The House Bunny." TEXT BY BARRY KOLTNOW, PHOTO BY COLUMBIA PICTURES
Anna Faris will do anything for a laugh, including exposing her personal hygiene habits in the spoof "Scary Movie." TEXT BY BARRY KOLTNOW, PHOTO BY DIMENSION FILMS
Although Tom Cavanaugh seems a little stiff in this scene, he and Anna Faris are both live-action actors. TEXT BY BARRY KOLTNOW, PHOTO COURTESY OF WARNER BROS.
Anna Faris is biting the lip of People magazine's current "Sexist Man Alive' Ryan Reynolds in "Just Friends." TEXT BY BARRY KOLTNOW, PHOTO BY NEW LINE CINEMA
Anna Faris is reaching for the stars in the comedy spoof "Scary Movie." We told you she'd do anything for a laugh. TEXT BY BARRY KOLTNOW, PHOTO BY DIMENSION FILMS
If it's every little girl's dream to live in a mansion with an old man in a bathrobe, then Anna Faris's character was living her dream in "The House Bunny." TEXT BY BARRY KOLTNOW, PHOTO BY COLUMBIA PICTURES
I smell love in the air, or perhaps that's ragweed in "Yogi Bear." TEXT BY BARRY KOLTNOW, PHOTO COURTESY OF WARNER BROS.
Anna Faris plays a nature filmmaker who is not surprised that bears can talk in "Yogi Bear." TEXT BY BARRY KOLTNOW, PHOTO COURTESY OF WARNER BROS.
I know that this scene makes it appears as if "Yogi Bear" also appeals to adults, but it doesn't. TEXT BY BARRY KOLTNOW, PHOTO COURTESY OF WARNER BROS.
Playboy bunny Anna Faris tries to teach Emma Stone how to be sexy in "The House Bunny." Judging from later movies, she was successful. TEXT BY BARRY KOLTNOW, PHOTO BY COLUMBIA PICTURES
I know that Tom Cavanaugh and Anna Faris look shocked in this photo, but one of the movie's gags is that Yogi Bear and Boo Boo's ability to speak doesn't faze them. TEXT BY BARRY KOLTNOW, PHOTO COURTESY OF WARNER BROS.
Anna Faris plays a spoiled, ditzy, Britney-like pop star in "Just Friends." Hint: she's the best part of the movie. TEXT BY BARRY KOLTNOW, PHOTO BY NEW LINE CINEMA
Anna Faris plays an adventurerous filmmaker who doesn't blink when it comes to cavorting with wild animals that talk and annoy tourists. TEXT BY BARRY KOLTNOW, PHOTO COURTESY OF WARNER BROS.
Justin Timberlake is Boo Boo and Dan Aykroyd voices the title character in the new 3D movie "Yogi Bear." TEXT BY BARRY KOLTNOW, PHOTO COURTESY OF WARNER BROS.

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